Born of Air by A. L. Knorr

Author:A. L. Knorr [Knorr, A. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Intellectually Promiscuous Press
Published: 2017-11-14T16:00:00+00:00

11

I had just finished dumping my bucket of excavated dirt into a tray to begin the dry-screening process when the wind kicked up, blew my hat off, picked up some of the dirt and threw it into my face. I blinked and lifted my hand to brush the dirt and sand from my eyes when I heard Jesse's voice behind me.

"Your hands are dirty, that'll make it worse. Let me. I've been wearing gloves." Warm hands took my face. "Can you look up?"

I tried to look up but had to blink rapidly. Thumbs gently pulled down the grit from the corner of my right eye.

"That better?"

"The left one is worse, actually," I said, trying to hold still.

Another powerful gust of wind blew over us, throwing sand and dirt into the air like confetti and whipping our clothes against our limbs. It was followed by a second more powerful blast that made Jesse and me bend our faces into each other's shoulders. Annoyed voices cried out from the excavation pits.

"Throw your tarps over and take shelter!" Ethan's voice called over the wind.

Jesse and I tucked our buckets away into the shelving under the tables and raced back to cover our trench with the emergency tarps. Winds could kick up out of nowhere and we couldn’t have them dumping sand into our pits. We finished and Jesse took my hand.

"Come on." Jesse led me, head bent against the wind and eyes mostly closed as more dust and sand whipped us in the face, stinging our cheeks.

"My tent is the closest." I stumbled after him, the wind tearing the words from my mouth. But he heard me and I felt him redirect.

We fumbled our way, half-blind, through my tent door, both of us squatting in close proximity as Jesse zipped the door shut. The calm inside the tent made me breathe a sigh of relief.

Keeping my eyes closed, I took off my long sleeved white button-up and shook it. I took my hair out of its low ponytail and ran my fingers through it. I felt the movement of Jesse brushing sand away, too.

"Ugh." I felt the grit that had built up on my scalp and on the back of my neck. "Sand everywhere, and I still can barely see." My eyes were stinging.

"Here." Jesse’s fingers found my face again. He removed the sand from my eyes as best he could, until I could finally open them. We were crouched together in the entrance compartment of my tent, and when he finally came into focus, my heart tripped. His face was startlingly close to mine.

I unzipped the inner door and reached in to grab my toiletries bag. Retrieving a bottle of spray and a towel, I gave my hands as good a wash as I could before crawling through and into my tent. I kicked off my runners and left them in the first compartment.

"We're going to get sand in your house." Jesse had to raise his voice over the sound of the wind outside.

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